Although natural disasters have been found to influence economic growth, their impact on income inequality has not yet been explored. This paper uses cross-country panel data during the period 1965 to 2004 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected income inequality. The...

Empirical studies have shown that preferences for redistribution are significantly correlated with expectations of future mobility and the belief that society offers equal opportunities. We add to previous research by investigating the role of individual and social norms on rent seeking. We find...

This paper uses inter-country panel data obtained during the period 1990 to 2010 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected corruption within the public sector. There are a number of major findings from this study. (1) Natural disasters lead to corruption within the public...

Amount of consuming imported goods is thought to influence consumer’s view and attitude toward the country which export the goods. This paper examines effect of viewing Japanese animation on attitude towards Japan in Korea. Major findings are that the more frequently adult Korean view Japanese...

This paper explores the role of mass media on people’s perceptions of charismatic leaders, focusing on Japan’s Koizumi regime. We conduct an empirical assessment, looking at the influence of television and newspapers on the support for Koizumi and his principal policy. This study uses...

This paper investigates whether and the extent to which the Fukushima nuclear accident 2011 affected human behavior based on a natural experiment with the Japanese Professional Baseball League. Comparing the duration of games in the 2010 and 2011 seasons reveals the following. (1) The duration...

Previous studies show that smokers are likely to be more impatient and prefer immediate benefits compared with non-smokers. Thus, smokers are regarded as myopic people and therefore have a high time discount rate. Such a tendency is thought to be related not only to short-term benefits (as...

This paper explores the role of mass media on people’s perceptions of charismatic leaders, focusing on Japan’s Koizumi regime. We conduct an empirical assessment, looking at the influence of television and newspapers on the support for Koizumi and his principal policy. This study uses...

Sumo wrestling is a traditional fighting sport in Japan and has been popular since the 18th century (the Edo period). Using a data set for all sumo wrestlers in the post-World War II period, this paper investigates how wrestlers’ body mass index (BMI) is associated with their win rate and...

The great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) earthquake, which occurred in 1995, resulted in tremendous economic damage to the city of Kobe. Using individual-level data of Japan during the period 2000–08, I investigated the long-term impact of the earthquake on the happiness of surviving victims. After...